Cherish
by ablast4
Summary: Nemu wants Uryu to kiss her, but Uryu's acting in character.  Twoshot
1. Hidden feelings

Cherish

Nemu wants Uryu to kiss her, but Uryu's acting in character.

I don't own Bleach

A/N: This story sort of goes along with ch. 7 of my fic Rise of Renji, but it's okay to read this separately. The other fic just gives some background information.

"But why not?" Nemu asked plainly as she followed Uryu through the schoolyard, "Do you not like me?" Uryu stopped walking. He looked at his feet and explained, "It's not that I don't like you, I just think it's too soon for something like that." "Then how long will it take until it's not too soon?" Nemu asked. "I don't know," Uryu told her, "We would have to be in a relationship." "Then how do we get in a relationship?" she asked. "I don't know that either," Uryu confessed. That was the end of their talk for the day.

The next day after school their talk resumed. "Why will you not kiss me?" Nemu asked once more. "Because the Pride of the Quincy will not allow me to kiss a girl that I haven't even gone on one date with," Uryu responded. "Then let's go on a date," Nemu urged him. "I'm not sure we should," Uryu said hesitantly. "I see no reason not to," Nemu told him.

Uryu blushed and pushed his glasses up his nose. "Well, you didn't bring any money of your own and the Pride of the Quincy wouldn't allow me to let a girl such as yourself go hungry while I eat, so we should meet somewhere and I'll buy you dinner," Uryu explained. "I would appreciate that," that said as she smiled softly.

"Where shall we meet?" Nemu asked. "How about that ramen place about a block from the school in the direction of the river." Uryu suggested. Nemu frowned slightly, "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with that place." "Well that's okay, we can just meet outside of the school and walk to it from there," Uryu told her, "We can meet back there in about two hours." "I will be there," Nemu answered and then dashed off. "Where are you going?" Uryu called out to her, but she was either too far away to hear him or too busy to reply..

Nemu approached the Urahara Shoten where Ururu was sweeping the storefront as she always does. Ururu looked up from her duties and greeted her, "Welcome, Miss Kurotsuchi. Mr. Urahara's not here right now, but you can come inside and wait for him." "That's alright, I'm here to see Yoruichi." Nemu explained. "She's down in the hot spring right now, but she probably wouldn't mind if you went to visit her." "Thank you," Nemu bowed and entered the shop.

Nemu entered the shop and climbed down the ladder to the secret underground training room that everyone knew about. Yoruichi was lounging in the hot spring. When she heard someone coming, she cracked open an eye. "If you're here for training, I'm done for the day. You'll have to find someone else," she called out. Nemu bowed and politely responded, "I'm not here for your help with training, I need your help with something else." Yoruichi opened both her eyes and leaned forward. "You must be that Kurotsuchi kid that Kisuke mentioned earlier. What do you need help with?" Yoruichi asked.

"I need you to help prepare me for a date with Uryu Ishida," Nemu answered. Yoruichi burst into laughter, "The uptight kid with the glasses and sewing kit!" "Yes, Uryu wears glasses and possesses a sewing kit. Is something wrong?" Nemu responded. Yoruichi calmed down and said, "No, it's just that you two would be a perfect match for each other." "Thank you for your support," Nemu replied. Yoruichi chuckled gently and told her, "Don't mention it. I think I've got some old stuff that'll fit you around here somewhere. Come on upstairs and we'll get you ready."

Yoruichi, Ururu, and Nemu were assembled in one of the back rooms of the shop that was used for storage. Yoruichi stored most of her clothes here. She usually just wears her orange jacket over black tights, so not much else gets used often. Yoruichi got out some boxes of clothes and Ururu moved in a full body mirror so that Nemu might examine herself. "I've got a lot of stuff here," Yoruichi sighed, "It might take a while to find the best one."

Meanwhile, Uryu was having a similar dilemma over what he should wear. He also had a wide selection to choose from. Most of the clothes were store bought. Some of them were custom, if somewhat awkwardly, tailored by himself. Uryu groaned in frustration, "I have no idea what to wear! Nemu probably only has her school uniform, so I should just wear mine right? But if she gets new clothes from somewhere, and I show up in my school uniform, I'll look foolish! This is so frustrating!"

Ryuken coughed from the doorway. "What do you want?" Uryu demanded. "Grandchildren," Ryuken answered bluntly, "Which is why I'm going to help you. I have experience with this kind of thing." Uryu looked at his dad skeptically, but decided to trust him. "So what advice do you have for me?"

After a long process of trial and error, Uryu and Ryuken decided together on dark blue jeans, black tennis shoes, and a white hoodie over a gray T-shirt. "It's just a ramen place, so you don't want to where anything too fancy, but you still have to look presentable," Ryuken commented. "Thank you for your help," said Uryu. By now it was almost time to meet and Uryu was walking out the door. As he did his father called out to him, "Don't disappoint me!" Uryu sighed and continued on his way.

About an hour earlier at the Urahara Shoten, Nemu was trying on some clothes that Yoruichi brought out. Nemu was currently wearing a plain red blouse with a plain white skirt and red slippers. Yourichi examined her and commented, "The plain look really suits you, but I want to try out some other looks before we decide." Though after an hour of trying on various clothing combinations, they settled on the plain outfit described earlier.

Uryu arrived at the schoolyard first. As he anxiously waited for his date, he couldn't help but think, "I hope she doesn't show up in her school uniform, she's smart, but she doesn't have any social skills. Would she even realize it would be inappropriate? On the other hand, what if she goes over the top and shows up in a black evening gown with diamond jewelry?"

Before Uryu could worry any more he noticed Nemu walking towards him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw what she had chosen to wear. Nemu also noticed how Uryu went with a plain look as well. They were both glad to some extant that their outfits matched where formality was concerned. They exchanged greetings and Uryu led Nemu to the ramen shop.

A/N: This chapter was just preparation, the next chapter will be their actual date.


	2. Exposed feelings

Cherish

Nemu wants Uryu to kiss her, but Uryu's acting in character.

I don't own Bleach

A/N: Sorry this took so long, I'm not comfortable writing romance fics, so it was kinda hard to get motivated.

Uryu and Nemu walked quietly to the shop. Silence fell between them. It wasn't really awkward, but it was far from comfortable. Mostly it just seemed tense.

The shop itself wasn't very impressive. It was just a typical bar-like service area where you would sit on a stool and could watch the chef cook the food. Nemu took the seat next to the wall and Uryu sat down next to her. They were the only two costumers at the time.

The chef, who was a middle-aged, well fed man, smiled and greeted them, "Welcome! What can I get ya?" After studying the menu, which was posted to the back wall above the chef's head, Uryu ordered a bowl of ramen with chicken. Nemu pondered her choices much longer and decided, "It's all very interesting, may I have one of each?"

Uryu was lucky he hadn't received his food yet.

"What? You can't eat that much!" Uryu exclaimed. Nemu replied calmly, "Yes I can, I have a very powerful digestive system." "That's not really what I meant," Uryu said tentatively. "I appreciate your concern , but there would be no negative effects to my health, any excess energy or harmful material would be expelled as waste, not stored under my skin," Nemu explained.

Before Uryu could say anything more, the chef placed two bowls of ramen with chicken in front of them. "Enjoy!" he said heartily as he began to prepare the remaining dishes for Nemu.

The two ate quietly, with the occasional noise of ramen sizzling or utensils clanging from behind the counter. Nemu finished first. When she did Uryu asked her, "Did you like it?" Nemu set down her chopsticks and replied, "Yes, it was very good. I've never had this form of food before." Uryu asked, "What do you usually eat?" Nemu responded, "Aside from the snacks served at SWA meetings, I only eat standard lab rations. They're not bad, but this is much better."

The chef placed the next dish in front of Nemu and took the empty bowl away. As they continued to eat, Uryu thought about how Nemu must feel in her everyday life. She didn't have anything aside from the lab where she works with her father and the SWA. Rukia had told them about it once. Which is why he was grateful she at least had that.

They didn't talk for a while after that. Nemu slowly finished off bowl after bowl of ramen, and Uryu watched her. When she finally finished her last bowl, the chef handed Uryu the bill. It was expensive, but his father had planned for this. Uryu was able to easily pay for it with what his father had given him.

When the couple left the shop the chef thought to himself, they're the weirdest couple I've seen so far, but at least they're not as loud as the blonde couple that came by last week. And hitting the chef with your sandal just because the food is a slightly overcooked is a little too harsh.

As they left the shop Nemu asked, "What do we do now?" Uryu thought, then told her, "There's not really much going on around town right now. We could go for a walk around the river, it's not far from here." Nemu smiled slightly, "That sounds nice."

As they walked next to the river they could see the reflection of the sunset in the water and feel a cool breeze against their skin. Uryu hesitated before asking, "So what's your reason for wanting me to kiss you so badly?"

Nemu shifted her gaze down to the grass and told him, "I spend all of my time working in the lab with my father. I'm devoted to him, but I don't enjoy the experimentation like he does. Sometimes it's very painful for me. There are the SWA meetings, but they're not particularly frequent. So all I have during the experiments and research are my memories. I remember the meetings and good times I've had with friends, but the memory I cherish the most is when you stood up for me and fought my father, then showed mercy when you could have killed him. That's why I want you to kiss me, so I can have another precious memory to turn to when the pain is just too much."

Tears began to well in Nemu's eyes. Uryu stared and whispered her name, "Nemu," before he leaned forward and kissed her. They stood there, frozen, for a few moments, then broke apart. Nemu braced herself against Uryu's chest and began to sob heavily. Uryu wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace, ignoring the tears and snot that were starting to stain his clothes. As she continued to cry, he whispered into her ear, "It's okay, I'm here for you."

When she was done crying Nemu looked up at Uryu's face and apologized, "I'm sorry, I'm not usually like this." Uryu said gently, "You don't need to apologize, it's good to let your feelings out." Nemu sniffed and asked, "Really?" Uryu replied softly, "Yes, if you want to cry, you don't have to hold it in." Nemu teared up, and started to cry again.

For nearly half an hour they stood like that, Nemu crying as Uryu held her. By the time Nemu Was finished, it was already dark. "Thank you," Nemu said as she wiped away the last of her tears, "I feel better now." "I'm glad, " Uryu replied. Nemu pulled away from Uryu. "I have to go now, but I'll see you again," she told him.

He knew arguing was futile. "Goodbye, Nemu," he said solemnly. "Goodbye, Uryu," she said back to him, "I will never forget this time we've had together." And she walked away.

A/N: So my first romance fic comes to an end. I think it was pretty good, but I need you to tell me how it really was. So please tell me what was good, what was bad, and what can be done to make it better.


End file.
